3D Printing: 13 MORE Things I Wish I Knew: 2021 Update

[@dandelion1627]

Can you add one more important topic: the proper disposal of plastic printing wastes? I think it would be helpful and educational for many since more people are doing 3D printing and that means more forever plastic waste will be on the earth we are living in. Are there a way to indefinitely recycle the plastic filament materials?

[@AmbuBadger]

Good dating advice too- in regards to cleaning your bed and using alcohol only as needed.

[@justinring3235]

I wanted to like this comment but it's at 69 likes. So I'll just comment instead.

[@darteco6507]

Nice salt lake temple there

[@AuthenTech]

PLA is still my favorite, super fast and easy to print, and works for 99% of my needs.

[@The3DPrintingZone]

I'm right there with ya. PLA is great for so many things so I use it most every time.

[@TractorsNStuff]

As a relative noob myself, printing on my Ender 3 v2 for about 3 months now, I do have a few more tips that I've picked up along the way. 1) Ask questions. From friends who print, from forums, from comments in KZbin, from thingiverse, etc. The worst part for me, was not understanding why something wasn't working the way it should. I'm able to figure things out by myself, but asking for help solved many issues faster. 2) Print useful things. Printing useless things can be fun, and can be a learning experience, but convincing the significant other that the time you're spending, the money your spending, is worth it, is much easier when you present them with useful printed objects. 3) Build a routine. When trying new filaments or new hardware (such as all metal hotend), come up with a routine. For me, I level the bed, and print a temp tower first. Once I get the best temp, I do a retraction tower to eliminate stringing. When that is done, I print a benchy and make any necessary adjustments. Then I print my object using the correct settings. Doing this routine has greatly reduced the amount of failed prints or completed prints that I'm not too happy with 4) Invest in post printing tools. Get some fine grit sand paper, files, deburring tool, etc. Cleaning up your prints will make the prints look and function much better. Don't settle for anything but the best you can produce. 5) Use print profiles. When you create a print that turns out perfect, all the settings are excellent for your printer, save the profile for that filament! Spending time in front of your slicer resetting all the parameters for something you did a few weeks ago, is simply a waste of time. Save your data, and use it again in the future. 6) You can dehydrate the silicon packs that come with your filament for use later. As mentioned in this video, you can reuse those packs, and they might work to remove the moisture from the bag containing your filament. But you can dehydrate them and they will work like new! Simply put them on your dehydrator or filament dryer for a few hours and they are done. 7) You will fail at printing. Learn to learn from your mistakes. Your prints will fail at some point. Hopefully, they will fail at the beginning, but sometimes they will fail much later in the print. Examine the failure, figure out what went wrong, maybe you needed a support there, or you didn't add enough brim and it fell over, etc. Learn from your mistakes, dont get discouraged. 8) Stock printers are not enough. I bought my Ender 3 V2 about 3 months ago. Since then, I've replaced just about everything. The extruder, the hotend, bowden tube, bed springs, nozzles, firmware, bed, added filament guides, lights, BLTouch, etc. It works out of the box, but you will find that you will upgrade it rather quickly. 9) Update the firmware. I use Jyers. WAYYY more functionality vs stock, no need to reboot the printer to read new contents off the SD card, and its easy to install. 10) Don't be afraid to experiment. Just because someone told you their best settings, or what you "need" to do to print the object, doesn't mean that's what you need to do. Its a great place to start, but tinker with the settings, find what works best for you and your printer. Here is an example: a friend of mine has an Ender 3 V2 and told me his settings. I tried printing using those settings and the prints worked, but took too long and didn't have the quality I was looking for. I had issues with layer adhesion, stringing, etc. But my friend has been printing for years! He must know what he is doing! I started tinkering and thinking critically about what I was doing and the adjustments I was making. I watched YT vides, and incorporated all the above lessons. I found that I need a slightly hotter bed temp, hotter nozzle, less cooling fan, more extrusion, thicker line, slower first layer, faster printing speed, combing, etc. This resulted in my friend coming over to take a look. He saw my latest benchy and said "WOW! Looks like you got it dialed in!" I showed him my settings and he was completely lost. He now asks me for my advise on techniques and settings. Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things.

[@squidcaps4308]

Edner 3 owner: only the extruder needs replacing and maybe a glass on the bed, the rest of the mods are YOUR preferences. For ex, BLTouch is completely useless when you have a flat bed... It doesn't do anything when everything is as it should be. The best quality comes when you have a perfectly flat bed so.. BLTouch is really a fix for a problem that you should not have. I had to replace bowden tube after 15kg and a lot of it was really just me being stupid, the stock tube probably would still be ok. Mileage may vary, maybe i just got lucky, printing quality didn't change with a better tube. The hotend is well sufficient for PLA and PETG. I have made quite a lot of mods but really, the extruder and bed are the only mandatory fixes and the rest of it are optional or just cosmetic, with minimal function. My filament path runs on bearings but there is absolutely no differences in the printing quality. I love working with it, it feels sooo smooth that it makes me smile but.. doesn't change the results. When replacing the extruder, double axle is worth the money.

[@brodelsam]

This could be the most well written, informative KZbin comment of all time.

[@TractorsNStuff]

@@brodelsam That is probably the single best reply to any comment I've ever written! Thank you!!

[@sarimrizvi66]

Bro thanks a lot I have been looking at buying a ender 3 v2 but I wanted insight from a kind of beginner. Thanks for explaining!

[@JohnnyKronaz]

My E3v2 changes the microSD on the fly, every single time I'm done with a print, I swap out the card with the next object I've sliced up. And it's 100% stock (for now)

[@iantaylor1341]

1:49 I like to zip up the bag enough to leave a mouth sized hole and suck out the air before sealing. great video !

[@ScarlettStunningSpace]

22:25 The eye on that Wyze camera kinda looks like the death star. Really great updated guide. The comments are usually really helpful too. The barrier for entry these days seems a lot lower than 9 years ago when I first heard about it. I'm really glad the cost went down. Now I can get a sub $200 printer that works decently.

[@darkonikolic8377]

I'd also suggest to print initial layer at 50% speed. That way all small details and circles on the bottom will be printed well

[@ThaiRoney]

Great 👍 thank you !

[@aqhan]

That needs to be said a lot! I tend to print PLA at 50mm/s, but first layer at 20mm/s. Same for everything else. Also, turn off the part cooling fan for the first layer or two.

[@sanslik5141]

This is a big one. 1/2 the print speed and increase the temps by about 10 degrees for the first layer, makes a massive difference

[@solarguy6043]

The slower speed also improves adhesion on the ender glass/carborundum build plate.

[@servanttofriend8481]

Why... Why, why, why, has no one build a BIG infinite z belt printer yet??? We need 1 meter x 1 meter x infinity, or bigger, and we can start printing everything from aerospace parts to full body panels for cars. Do I have to make this sh*t myself?

[@coyoteran]

If I were to add a suggestion to the list though it would be "Get comfortable switching our your nozzle and changing your settings for different projects". My current printer can support jobs that range from a .15mm nozzle up to a .8mm nozzle. If you want super fine detail, dropping the layer height isn't enough. Alternatively, if you are looking for serious print speed, industrial strength but not a lot of dimensional accuracy, a .8 mm nozzle is hard to beat.

[@AquaStevae]

Or, my new printer can print with a 1.0mm nozzle. That really gets it going...

[@adzalonie7172]

Thanks dude! I’ve watched both your prior ones, my first printer is coming today. I’ll need to rewatch a few times.

[@mamatuja]

I use magnetic bed, with spring steel sheet, blue painter's tape, sometimes with glue stick and I turn off the heater after 1st layer. No problems at all. Save power.🤙

[@glennleader8880]

It's pretty easy to revive an ancient roll of PLA filament. You see, it's not dried out, it's absorbed moisture. Drying will revive it. I use my slow cooker in an unusual configuration to revive a roll in less than an hour.

[@seank4148]

Nice SLC Temple model. =) Great video. Thank you!

[@mszoomy]

I'm still in the research stages. Your videos have been so helpful

[@DJ.Apocalypto]

I'm looking to get my very first 3d printer this Christmas. And I have ALOT of learning to do it looks like! 😁

[@stacheman82]

Thank you for this great video! I like that you have a straight forward delivery of information without all of the corny special video effects I've seen on other videos. I have subscribed to your channel, and will continue to watch your informative videos.

[@musicteacherengel]

I'm brand new to 3D printing, and your videos have been very helpful. It's all a little overwhelming, but resources like your channel are great. Thank you!

[@The3DPrintingZone]

Thanks for the kind words and keep moving forward! It can be a bit overwhelming but it's so much fun.

[@jeffwong1699]

I totally agree with your comment! I haven't even purchased a 3D printer yet because I want to make sure that I know how to use it and make sure I purchase a good quality printer. I've been asking questions, watching videos, reading reviews etc etc. I was told by a person who sells 3D printers that over half of his customers quit printing within the first few months because they get frustrated. I don't want to be one of those. Thanks for the videos and thank all of you for your helpful and insightful comments.

[@AquaStevae]

I'm not sure how to answer your ending question, as I'm just getting started. But like a sponge, I'm soaking up everything I can. Can't wait to get going really strong with all of this. It opens up an entirely new world... Thanks for another great vid.

[@123masteryoda123]

Great advise, spent 3 days fighting with my 3D printers and it turned out to be the extruder gear was loose, not the filament. As far as modeling, I learned Blender about 2 year ago and it has worked very well for me. A few minor announces, but nothing drastic.

[@cdvaight]

Soap and water for oils and grease, plain Dawn works awesome. Isopropyl alcohol will clean the other residue.

[@jackbean849]

i could not wrap my head around fusion 360, so, because i have a background in 3d modeling for video games, i chose to learn how to use blender for designing things to print. This has been a great way to design custom objects for 3d printing. The biggest obstacle was getting the "measureit" add on settings correct or understanding how to use them, but once you understand what the values are, you can always use an online conversion calculator to convert from inches to mm, and usually the default setting is meters in blender, so it's fairly easy to see that the imported stl model is actually mm instead of meters, so you don't actually have to set it to mm, just pretend it's already mm and its fine. If you are already comfortable working in blender, it is a very viable option for creating or modifying/mixing models. FreeCAD is another option if you want the ability to "blueprint" something with precise measurements and then use that as the basis for the model. then you can always export it to blender for final touchups, aesthetic adjustments, etc. Anyway, those are two other ways to make and modify models for printing.

[@squidcaps4308]

I use mirror, they are optical devices as in they have to be flat.. and you can see when they are not to a ridiculous accuracy. I used glue sticks for long time until i found the right kind of hair spray. The trick is to buy non-allergenic hairspray as they do not have a lot of additives and perfumes. It is really, really good, it sticks very well when hot but when it cools off the parts detach on their own. If you use a spray, then word of advice: make a "paint box", cut out an open box from cardboard that you can set on your print bed so the spray does not go everywhere. Over time the spray will coat everything in the printer, fans, belts.. all of it is covered in acrylate.

[@johnvodopija]

Thank you for these good tips. A clean flexible magnetic bed is a must have. Also I would add “manual mesh bed leveling” which for my larger printer has been a game changer 👍😎🇦🇺

[@fugitiveminded]

Which do you recommend. I see all kinds with mixed reviews. I have cr10v2 and aquila

[@aqhan]

I went through just about every imaginable bed type by now. The only one that stuck is that Creality glass bed, but turned to the smooth side. They are one of the only few that are 4mm thick, which helps them be nice and flat, amongst other things. With an adhesive stick for heated beds (nothing fancy, just cheap stuff), I print everything, from PLA, to PETG, to Wood, to Flexible to Carbon Fibre and Glass Fibre Nylon filament. I have next to 0 failures. Also worth mentioning, Auto Bed Levelling (ABL) doesn't actually auto-level your bed. It just compensate for micro unevenness on not perfectly flat beds, you still got to level your bed.

[@redherring5532]

My boss bought two printers from me to be able to use at work. I work at a grand format digital printing shop doing tech on the 16 foot printers (ink). And even in this industrial setting I've gotten way better use printing out of PLA, it just works consistently, and I don't have to babysit it.. petg always gives me surprises and sometimes I just gotta have that part so PLA it is.

[@MuhammadAli22931]

I suggest you use a spray bottle with IPA when cleaning the bed, it would ensure even cleaning with less amount needed.

[@nightlurker]

I used to nick my wife's food vacuum machine from the kitchen until she bought me one for myself. Using the large rolls of bag material I have found is the best and easiest method to store my filament. I pop a bag of silica into it and seal the bag with most of the air removed.

[@Code_Exodus]

Blender 3D it's open source, free, metric peta tonnes of tutorials, highly customizable for needed use, high learning curve yes but you have huge communities to ask and all the time to learn it. It exports to STL format right off the bat to feed into a slicer and is regarded as the most powerful free 3D modeling software out there.

[@GeneralHowToTutorials]

Made me feel better to see my go to brand of filament in the video.

[@Imercor1]

Excellent video. I am using the wyze cam and smart plug solution already. It works great. I also have smart plugs on my lights for the printers.

[@theboi960]

Absolutely amazing! Great tips for noobs like me. I just started 6 months ago, and this really helped.

[@martybadboy]

As a 30 year eperienced CAD user who was new to Fusion 360, I found the KZbin series from Arnold Rowntree all I needed to get a good handle on the basics.

[@darrennew8211]

Blender 3D is also a great 3D design tool that has built-in 3D print utilities (like checking for overhangs, non-manifold shapes, etc).

[@mw3gamerJg]

I was surprised he didn’t mention Blender. It’s free af and probably one of the most used softwares out there in terms of 3D Modeling.

[@darkonikolic8377]

Switching to bigger nozzles is something that made my 3d printing much faster and convenient for bigger objects. It surely takes time to adjust the printing settings for each one but it pays of after just a few bigger prints. In fact doubling the nozzle size makes printing 4 times faster

[@johnvodopija]

I second this! I’ve just started using 0.6mm nozzle and once dialled in is such a time saver for less detailed larger prints👍😎🇦🇺

[@squidcaps4308]

Most cheapo hotends can only do 0.6mm until it starts to get inconsistent, or you have to lower speeds so low that for ex 0.8mm does not pay off. Way worse quality with almost the same speeds than with 0.6mm. Also, noticed that lowering layer heights from 0.3 to 0.24 makes the quality often almost on par with 0.4mm while still keeping up with the speeds. Overhangs are prettier that way. 0.4mm is the best compromise between speed and quality but i love to print fast drafts with 0.6mm.

[@daveyJ213]

DUDE! You just gave me an awesome idea. That 3D printing pen would be perfect for making little N scale tree armatures for my model railroad. Thanks.

[@lonewofl1324]

Have you ever thought about making a discord and allowing screen sharing to help others with learning settings and such for running prints?

[@locostbamboo]

Great video! I agree with printing your own models. I love Nomad and am still learning it, but a great program.

[@younisamedi]

Another great video, thank you!

[@The3DPrintingZone]

Thank you!

[@ralph5476]

Probably VERY basic, but... Slowing down the print speed dramatically helped on my finished products, and allowed smaller layer heights and finer detail. My default layer height was 0.3, but using 0.2 simply created a mess, at 100% speed.

[@DirkCannon]

I'm starting to get into 3D printing. You're videos are really helping me learn tips and what to get when I do buy my printer

[@The3DPrintingZone]

I’m glad to hear it! Stick with it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

[@pr0xZen]

In regards to the relatively low flexibility on that spring steel buildplate. I see a blue flashforge surface sheet on there? Those are made from like 0.6-0.8mm PC, and the adhesive is strong as heck. That's gonna reduce flexibility *a lot.* Even compared to a thick layer of PEI.

[@mercutio1404]

Love the #1 tip when I decided to get a 3d printer it was the idea that I would learn modeling and design while also getting use to my printer) and yeah fusion 360 is a rabbit hole you need to dive head first into to really get the most of the free license imo

[@owiela]

I've always employed the 'on-the-fly skirt leveling' technique. I thought I was just being janky. Also, take some time to calibrate your printer. I've spent the last 2 days doing e-steps, direct drive conversion and temp/retraction tests on all my filaments. I wish I had the patience to do this two years ago when I got my printer >

[@chrisnenzel582]

Seems to me that if you have a food saver you could buy some of the resealable large bags and put your spools in them with the silica packs...

[@santiagodamasco]

thank you for all the Information, this is great!!!!

[@creamofbotulismsoup9900]

The main thing the makes PLA brittle is not moisture, IT'S LIGHT, keep it in a box or in a dark place, it really doesn't absorb much water for it to be an issue, at least in the dry climate I live in.

[@dc9808]

pei on glass is my fav bed surface.

[@TerenceGoh21]

Great help. Thank you so much. Newbie from Malaysia!! Cheers mate

[@viaumarcandre]

Nice video, and most important : nice t shirt.

[@riccardolacchini3968]

I think you missed the PEI print surface. I actually bought one, sticked it into a magnetic sheet and it works for me as an intermediate between the regular magnetic sheet and the creality proprietary surface. PEI sticks very well ABS without glue

[@Oldtimyviolence]

Welding with a 3d printing pen. Heh, neat

[@scotts1356]

I just ordered an LK5 and know nothing about 3d printing. But I've watched a lot of videos. What baffles me, is that so many people are saying get a pen, get better leveling knobs and get this and get that. It seems as though buying the printer is only the beginning. Why aren't the manufacturers including these upgrades, so people don't have to buy all of this "extra" stuff.???

[@BoochTheGooch]

Digging the content and the shirt!

[@jibcano1777]

I found turning down jerk has been a huge step in the right direction as a noob

[@thanostsikerdekis8351]

#5 Clean Your Bed Thank you so much for this advice! It really makes a huge difference! Cheers!

[@Churrasquero]

Hey Nils nice video, thanks! You could also mention the organic 3D modeling softwares like Zbrush and Blender. Those are really great options to develop amazing 3d models.

[@sandwichgod4659]

One filament I had an issue with was a marble filament the flakes seemed to cause issues on first use

[@Zh87119]

Just a beginners take on bed levelling or to put a question out there... For example on the most important issue, Does a 0.4 mm nozzle not require a gap less than the nozzle size, so would the use of feeler gauges not work to accurately determine the best gap according to profiles and materials? Does the print quality affect this gap and first layer height ?

[@danieltilson4053]

I filled a little spray bottle with the alcohol for bed cleaning. I need to get a few good microfiber cloths still

[@franktaccetta784]

Thanks Nils

[@jimmcdowell1290]

Thank you for the tips

[@bentleyreynolds8577]

I love the temple model!

[@markmcconnell8705]

Again...Great info!

[@TheRook12325]

PLA is actually one lf the strongest filaments it is just more brital than ABS and less heat resistance. But abs is pretty much irrelevant now.

[@Duraltia]

@01:25 Well... One of my local Grocery stores has a line of fancy foods and in that line they sell Wasabi Coated Nuts ( Peanuts, Cashew, etc... ) in a Tin Can with a second bottom below the nuts hiding one of those desiccant packs... I guess with something like that stored _that_ close to food and ppl not necessarily knowing what those are I'd argue for that little writing to be a sound choice. My first contact with ABS was during the build of my Voron 2.4 and boy do I _hate_ it... Had I known beforehand I'd immediately have chosen ASA as the better alternative - Same benefits like being more stable in higher temperatures and faster printability but less of the P.i.t.A. associated with ABS.

[@PresidentElectLeRoy]

Thanks. All good information.

[@robjack3159]

You really offer great informative extremely helpful content, thank you

[@The3DPrintingZone]

That’s very kind of you and you’re very welcome!

[@deviantmatter]

You put a clip of a guard for a Dewalt miter saw dust collector in here..... I know EXACTLY why it was designed because I have the same issue and need that stl file, if you could send me the link.... that would be sick 😂

[@AKSELtheImproover]

Please make all 3D-PRINTER FUEL filament RECYCLABLE ♻️ AS Standard. To take care of the FURTHER, or YOUSE LESS Plastic.

[@pirobot668beta]

My top 4 'wish I knew before I started' items. #1 A clean start is essential. If the start aint where it needs to be, it is gonna be in the way or a hole later on! To quote from 'Dune': "The beginning is a delicate time" #2 Never 'wing-it' with settings; develop changes through testing! Boring as hell, printing the same part over and over, noting how each tiny change affects the print. Taking advice from on-line is OK, but sometimes advice to fix a specific problem aint gonna work for you! You don't have an exact duplicate of the other guys printer installation or modifications. #3 Always learn new shit! Be a knowledge shark, always moving forward! If you rest on your Laurels or take time for applause, you WILL be left behind. #4 Keep an open mind I ruined the joy printing for a whole year by forcing the printer to work the way I wanted it to...turns out I didn't know how printing worked! "Retraction? Sounds like a waste of time! No retraction, just use super-fast travel moves, end of problem!" Everyone 'just knows' that prints need lots of post-print clean up, right? *** Come to think of it, this is pretty much how to be happy in life! Get a good start every day, don't guess or make things up, learning is a tool, keep your eyes and ears open!

[@hillfortherstudios2757]

Good stuff man! Thanks!

[@spencer.h561]

im getting my first 3d printer soon.

[@christinley5213]

hey the spegity vid dint show in the corner..fig id let ya know. great info here thx!

[@cbgslinger]

Interesting video! I heartily agree with #1. I finally got a 3D printer to print the guitar/bass parts I was designing in openscad. It was not mentioned in the video. Over 95% of what I print, I design in openscad. Bought a Robo3D R1+ five years ago for $700 and it has been pretty much plug and play. I guess that is extremely rare. As I consider a new 3D printer, they appear to require much more fooling around with to get decent prints. I just want to print my parts not become a 3D printing expert. Where are those printers?

[@gidgethebert8670]

Are print glass bases interchngable? I recieved a voxelab aries for xmas/birthday this year and am just learning. I'm interested in the magnetic plates but wasn't sure if they would work. Thanks

[@brandenrae9803]

Is that the SLC temple?

[@3dprintingfrog]

I have an Ender 3 v2 with the carborundum bed and I only use only 99% alcool to clean it and it works wonders

[@robertgraham1511]

What about 3D printers that use the liquid resin and print from the top? Will the designing programs also work with them as well?

[@The3DPrintingZone]

Indeed. They get sliced differently but the modeling aspect is the same for both. Those are called SLA printers and these that I use are called FDM.

[@carlosr6547]

Excellent video!, new subscriber

[@erchompnurse]

You can put a bead of crazy glue and put some baking soda on it and it will instantly cure the glue to a plastic like finish and then sand it

[@mraliali1579]

Thank you very much 🌹

[@soggynode]

I wish I had known the difference between useful upgrades and things that are just changes to be changing things. There are dozens of things you can change or add to an entry level i3 clone but only a hand full of them make a noticeable difference in print quality or reliability. I'm also going through the Sketchup to Fusion transition for my 3d modeling so I can relate to the steep learning curve comment. That's a good list of items and well presented. In for a sub.

[@The3DPrintingZone]

Great points, Dale. Thanks so much for watching and subbing!

[@futynuty]

In terms of CAD software, some people may prefer the OpenSCAD, which is very different from all options, listed in the video (and comments as I could see). It is more oriented to software developers than engineers, but provides some unique features like natural version control, cross version compering, parameterized alternation of the design, etc.

[@SmokeyVlogs]

vry useful thank you sir

[@Daphoes]

haha love your T-shirt :)

[@josephmoreira5173]

I always do my initial way in the thirties Percentiles 1st layer always comes out great Most of the time you can't even tell it to printer it looks like extruded

[@libSegFault]

Yeah! Learn to model is the best tip to start with 3D printing. Love to see in your hand something that popped from your head 😂

[@eugenew2]

I'm learning how to play 8bit midi tunes on my Prusa.

[@apowell389]

Very informative. My neighbor has allowed me to borrow his Ender 3 Pro while he empties his garage in prep for moving. I have used it for 3 days. It's addicting. I can't stop finding tool accessories of Thingiverse to print. I have a few questions for you. As a beginner, do you have a few printers you recommend for me? I like the Ender 3 Pro but I want to have that 30cmx 30cm square vs the 22cm. What printers would not break the bank? How long did it take for you to get used to sketchup? Appreciate the content. Keep them coming.

[@The3DPrintingZone]

It's definitely a fun hobby to get into. One of the more recent printers of that size that I can recommend is the Longer LK5 Pro. I have a review video about it on this channel that you can check out and there's a discount code in the description. As for Sketchup, it's a great software to learn and definitely one of the easier ones to learn modeling in my opinion. I had been studying Fusion 360 recently but realized that Sketchup might just be the way to go for me since it's very capable, easy to use and I'm already very familiar with it. I'd say start there and, if you find you need more down the road, you can look at Fusion 360 or Blender possibly.

[@IMChrisThom]

What settings did you use for your tree support? I just started experimenting with them and they initially started as giant blobs everywhere and not nearly as controlled as what you have.

[@enlightendbel]

One thing many channels never say is annealing. I made a direct drive mod for an Ender 3 recently, tried to get its weight down as much as possible and most materials I tried ended up either flexing or brittle. Until I put a PLA version through an annealing cycle by warming my bed to 70, putting a glass lid over the bed and part, leaving it at 70 for 20 minutes and then stepping down to 50 in 5C increments, each increment lasting 10 minutes. The part that came out was tough as nails. Then I did the same with a PETG version and it was even better. You can do annealing with an oven that can go low enough but also just by using your bed and something to create a heatbox for the part.

[@fugitiveminded]

Do you see much warping with this? What kind of prints do you aneal and what two and time do you do for petg? Thanks for the advice!

[@enlightendbel]

@@fugitiveminded Depends on the structure of the part and you can account for it in the design. There's other things you can do to keep things straight and holes the right size, by plugging them with something the right size. I have whole boxes of metal plates and rods of various sizes just for that. For PLA I start at 70C, leave that for 15 minutes and then bring it down 5C, leave it 10 minutes, down another 5C, wait another 10 minutes and so on until 50C when I shut down the bed heater and let the part cool. For PETG, 75-80C and leave it for 45-90 minutes depending on how thick the part is. Then let it cool very very slowly (over a span of two hours for instance). I scripted that on the Pi so that it drops 1C every 3-4ish minutes. I wouldn't recommend using the bed for this tho, it's an open space that just wastes power. My next project is either building an annealing chamber with insulation material, or an enclosure for one of my printers. Likely a dedicated annealing chamber tho, I'm not a fan of heating up the entire printer to these kinds of temperatures. In the 3D Printing setting it is far from an exact science, so you need to do some experimenting to see what works best. Something as simple as a draft in the room can change the times and temperatures needed.

[@fugitiveminded]

@@enlightendbel thanks for the info and ideas!

[@superlitepilot5506]

Nils. Is there an easy way to create individual skeletal structure prints from a large surfaced part? I can go into the large surface part in 3-D design software and extrude cut out the areas but then I’m left with all of the skeletal areas in one STL file. I’m sure it’s easy but I don’t know how I would do it.

[@OneHeckOfARide]

Is that the Salt Lake Temple model? Are you in Utah?

[@The3DPrintingZone]

Yes and yes!

[@richfpv472]

Does anyone know if a mat for a 3d pen would work for a 3d printer, I'm a noob n only got a cheep printer with a small print bed 100x100mm, can't find a replacement magnetic mat for it as after only a few prints the mat surface is peeling off when taking the models off, maybe should have just got a ender 3 for my first printer but I didn't know if I'd be able to get on with printing in general, I'm using tpu for printing fpv drone parts. I also 100% agree with "its not the filament it's your settings" as my first print was aload of rubbish, after doing abit of Googleing and a KZbin vid or 2 changed speed and temp, second print 100% better still not perfect but I was happy with the quality, great videos you've taught me so much already

[@andrewcoleman33]

Dont use brass nozzle use a coated one for petg that comes from expeeriance

[@11tjohns]

Are you able to use that Wyze Cam to do your time lapses?

[@The3DPrintingZone]

You definitely can, but the print head will be moving all over so it's not nearly as nice as an Octolapse time lapse, for example, but it gets the job done.

[@jakubszott6394]

When you all have time to do it? Looks like full time job

[@richardlewis1831]

Do the Wyze cameras you have listed in your “Products Used” work with Octoprint ?

[@The3DPrintingZone]

Great question. I haven't tried it but in 2020 I did see that Wyze released a firmware update that allows them to be used as a Webcam, so I imagine it's possible. I just did a quick google search and here's the first thing that came up: medium.com/@adamargo/using-a-wyze-cam-with-octoprint-on-a-raspberry-pi-7a1c886b9afe, so yes - it seems to be possible.

[@richardlewis1831]

@@The3DPrintingZone Great and Thanks for the quick reply. That is exactly what I was looking for !

[@jed3219]

are there any advantages to using isopropyl alcohol versus acetone for cleaning glass beds? would acetone harm polycarbonate glass? i have a lot on hand already for welding, it'd be nice to use it instead of stocking high purity isopropyl as well. thanks for any input in advance

[@The3DPrintingZone]

I haven’t tried cleaning with Acetone myself but I just did some online research and it looks like it can be used but most are suggesting IPA most of the time with an occasional acetone cleaning. Not sure if acetone is more harsh or potentially destructive if overused or maybe it’s totally fine. Sorry I’m not more help on that.

[@DsmChris83]

Do you still use glue with the carbo glass bed? I can't seem to get the sunlu pla to stick to it for the entire print.

[@The3DPrintingZone]

I almost never use glue with PLA but if it’s not sticking then it’s definitely worth a try.